Having spent some time trawling through the archives of Time Magazine, as you do, it's remarkable how close Jesse Jackson actually came to winning the Democratic nomination in 1988. Indeed, as late as April, after the Michigan primary (
article here for verification), he was regarded as the frontrunner for the nomination. Only after Michael Dukakis won New York on April 17, when he became the prohibitive frontrunner (largely through exhaustion rather than anything else), did Jackson lose momentum. And in the weeks leading
up to New York, he was regarded as a contender to win. Had Jackson won the New York primary, he would have gained the crucial momentum needed to sweep the later primaries and, perhaps, the nomination. It was a damned-close run thing.
So what point of departure could allow Jackson to win New York, and from there the nomination? And from
there, how could he win the election against George Bush? Possibilities include new evidence relating to Iran-Contra, a major flub on the campaign trail by Bush or Quayle, or a
very astute VP choice.
And if a miracle occurs, and Jackson becomes the first president never to have served as a government official, then what would his presidency be like?